Abstract:

Changes within the UK Television market, both recent and imminent, will bring the buying and selling of TV airtime moving much closer to the negotiation of Press space. The separate selling of Channel 4 airtime, the continuing growth of satellite penetration, the fragmentation of viewing and increased emphasis on coverage as well as cost will all put greater emphasis on research. Against this background, in 1990 BMRB (the owners of TGI) embarked upon the significant commercial undertaking of fusing TGI onto BARB to create Target Group Ratings (TGR). The objective was to create an extended and enhanced TV measurement currency capable of enabling TV sales contractors and airtime buyers to assess audience delivery by brand and product users rather than just normal demographics. The paper summarises the methodology, and demonstrates just some of the strengths and value that TGR data can provide to its users. The paper also highlights some of the BARB changes, the implications the changes may have on the fusion process and assesses the early comparisons of the fused data to BARB single source data.